Jason Rezaian, a correspondent for The Washington Post, was named the 2016 recipient of the McGill Medal for Journalistic Courage.
Rezaian was imprisoned in Iran for 545 days, while working as The Post’s Tehran bureau chief in July 2014. Rezaian’s wife, Yeganeh Salehi, who is also a journalist, was released in October of that year.
Iranian authorities indicted Rezaian on four charges, including espionage, and sentenced him to an undisclosed prison term. Rezaian’s 545-day detention was the longest for a Western journalist in Iran.
“We are humbled to have the opportunity to honor Jason Rezaian,” said Janice Hume, head of UGA’s department of journalism. “What an amazing role model he is for our students who are just beginning to understand the nature and historic significance of journalistic courage.”
Before joining The Post, Rezaian was a freelance journalist based in Tehran, reporting since 2008 for the San Francisco Chronicle, GlobalPost, Slate and Monocle, among others.
Rezaian, who holds a dual U.S.-Iranian citizenship, was born in California.
The selection of Rezaian was made by the 2015 class of McGill Fellows, 12 undergraduate and graduate students chosen for academic achievement, practical experience and leadership.
The McGill Medal is named for Ralph McGill, the late editor and publisher of the Atlanta Constitution. The McGill Medal, now in its eighth year, is part of the McGill Program for Journalistic Courage at UGA’s Grady College.
“I’m in awe of the courage Jason Rezaian has shown as a journalist,” said McGill Fellow Lauren McDonald, a senior from Vidalia, Ga. “He’s based his career on telling the stories of the voiceless and using journalism to shed light on the misperceptions Americans have of Iran. He’s an inspiration to me.”
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